The name remained in my mind

Vera

After everything I had seen, I decided to keep exploring the mansion. The fear that had followed me since my death was slowly fading, giving me enough clarity to think instead of simply reacting to everything around me.

I could not be dead. At least, I refused to believe it. And if I truly was dead, then the Goddess had brought me here for a reason. Something told me this mansion still had answers waiting for me.

I was almost certain it had once belonged to Sofia's ancestors, but that only raised more questions. Why was I here? Why could I see things no one else could? Why was I being shown events from a past that should have been impossible for me to witness? Most importantly, what did any of this have to do with me?

I searched the mansion room by room, opening doors, checking windows and looking for anything that might offer a clue. Every room was empty, yet the house seemed to change as I moved through it.

The walls looked older. Furniture appeared to decay before my eyes, while dust gathered over surfaces that had seemed untouched only moments earlier. Paint peeled from the walls, and the grand mansion slowly became a forgotten ruin.

It felt like I was walking through time, passing through different periods of the house's history.

Eventually, I returned to the grand hall.

The paintings that had once decorated its walls were gone. Only pale marks remained where their frames had hung.

All except one. The Jade Waterfall.

I approached the painting and removed the cloth covering it. Despite its age, the colours remained vivid, and the waterfall looked almost alive beneath the painted moonlight.

"Why are you here?"

I reached out and touched the painted waterfall.

The mansion vanished. Once again, I was somewhere else.

Jade Waterfall.

I recognised it immediately, but this was not the waterfall I knew. The forest was much younger. Trees that had been hundreds of years old in my time were still little more than saplings.

A new moon hung above the forest, and the waterfall glowed with a strange green light.

Then I realised what was beneath the water.

Emeralds.

Thousands of green crystals filled the pool and seemed to glow from within. The sight was beautiful and almost impossible to believe.

I moved closer to examine them, but before I could reach the edge of the pool, something moved beneath the water.

A man emerged.

I recognised him at once.

Victor.

Water ran from his body as he rose from the pool, illuminated by the green glow of the emeralds. I remained where I was, watching him carefully.

The last time I had seen him, he had been able to see me. I still didn't know whether that was something I should fear.

Victor placed both hands on the surface of the water and began chanting in a language I couldn't understand. Strangely, the words felt familiar, as if some part of me knew them.

He closed his eyes.

Light appeared beneath his hands and spread across the pool. Within moments, the entire waterfall was glowing. The emeralds beneath the water shone brighter, filling the forest with green light.

I watched in silence.

There was something peaceful about what he was doing. It reminded me of the feeling I always experienced when I was alone in the forest, away from people and noise. Whatever Victor was doing, I could not sense any danger from him.

I had seen him twice, and neither time had he shown hostility towards me.

Perhaps I had been wrong to fear him. But could he really see me? No one else had.

Why was he different?

When the chant ended, the light faded and the waterfall returned to normal. I moved closer, wanting to ask him all the questions that had been filling my mind. Before I could speak, Victor looked directly at me.

There was no doubt now. He could see me. Then I noticed his eyes.

They were an incredibly pale green, almost the same colour as mine. I had never met anyone with eyes like that before. Depending on the light, mine could appear almost white.

I wondered if he was just as surprised to see mine.

I crouched until we were at eye level. Neither of us spoke. We simply studied each other, both filled with curiosity.

There was something strangely familiar about him.

I had never met Victor before, yet looking into his eyes made me feel as if I had known him somehow.

Before either of us could say anything, a figure appeared among the trees.

Victor turned towards him.

"It is done, Master Allen."

Victor looked at the man.

"Please, call me John."

"Very well."

The man stepped closer.

"The spell has been placed within the waterfall, specifically inside the emeralds beneath it. The water and emeralds extend through the underground waterways beneath this forest and throughout your territory."

He paused.

"No witch or warlock will be able to trespass on your lands."

My eyes widened.

A spell.

A witch.

A warlock.

Magic.

The stories I had always thought were legends were suddenly standing before me.

John looked at Victor with gratitude.

"I don't know how to thank you. When you first approached my father and me, we never believed you could accomplish something like this."

Victor climbed from the pool. He was still wearing his trousers, and when he stepped onto the ground, the water covering them vanished. His clothes dried almost instantly.

Another piece of magic.

John continued.

"I have to admit, we underestimated you."

"I am accustomed to that."

Victor put on his shirt and shoes.

John moved closer.

"If there is anything my family or I can ever do for you, tell me. I know magic like this comes at a cost, but our pack would never have survived without your help."

A pack.

So this was connected to werewolves. I moved closer so I could hear everything.

John continued, "Whatever you ask, if it is within my power, I will do it."

Victor looked at him for a moment.

"Many generations from now, I will come to the Allens and ask for a favour."

John looked concerned.

"What kind of favour?"

"One that cannot be refused."

I understood why John hesitated. Victor was not asking him to do something for himself. He was asking for a promise that would bind future generations of the Allen family.

After considering it, John finally nodded.

"I accept."

Victor gave him a small look of approval.

John still had one question.

"How will we know when the time comes? Will you be the one who delivers the request?"

"Remember my name. That will be enough."

John frowned.

"That's all?"

"That's enough."

For a moment, they looked at each other.

Then John asked, "What is your name, warlock?"

Victor turned towards him.

"Blackwood."

He paused before giving his full name.

"Victor Blackwood."

The name remained in my mind. Victor Blackwood.

I stood there watching a scene from a time that should have been impossible for me to witness. I didn't yet understand why I had been brought here or what Victor had to do with my own life. But somehow, I knew this name would not remain buried in the past.

Victor Blackwood was going to matter to me.